Work 1965

Here is a work by Jiro Yoshihara with black paint on what looks like a pale canvas. You can see the hand in it, the way the circle isn’t perfect, how it wavers and drips. I imagine Yoshihara poised, brush loaded, making that single, bold gesture. Did he pause? Probably. Did he think about it? I bet he did. It looks like a long breath, an attempt to resolve something knotty and difficult, in one go. The drips betray the painting’s making, that one perfect loop of black paint. The artist seems to invite the viewer into a space of contemplation, almost like zen painting. I’m reminded of other minimal painters like Robert Ryman and Agnes Martin, who used simple forms to explore painting's essence. Artists are always in conversation. Yoshihara might have been inspired by others, but he's also showing us a new way to see, a new way to feel. In the end, a painting is always a question, not an answer.